


The Chocolate In Those Cookies Might Melt In The Sun

by seibelsays



Series: Cookies ‘Verse [9]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Steve Rogers 100th Birthday Celebration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-30 02:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15087257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seibelsays/pseuds/seibelsays
Summary: Steve wonders what the future holds.





	The Chocolate In Those Cookies Might Melt In The Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Steve Rogers 100th Birthday Celebration Week!

Bucky balanced his overstuffed plate of food in one hand as he handed Steve one of the bottles dangling from the fingers of his other hand. Steve grabbed the bottle with a smile of thanks and set it on the ground next to his chair.

“Pretty good spread this year,” Steve said, shoveling food into his mouth.

“It’s not every year you turn 100,” Bucky replied.

“Buck - this isn’t - I mean, it’s not-”

“Shut up.”

“I don’t want anyone making a fuss,” Steve protested.

“And no one is,” Bucky countered. “We’re having a cookout on the roof. The mayor wanted to throw you a parade, remember?”

Steve shuddered. “Yeah, I remember.” He looked around at the small group assembled around the pool. Sam and Rhodey were animatedly discussing flight patterns and tactics with Tony, while Wanda and Maria watched in amusement and seemed to be placing a silent bet with each other. Darcy was refilling the ice in the cooler while Jane tended the grill and occasionally slipped Becca bits of burger when Darcy wasn’t looking. Clint was bringing out refills for the potato salad and more corn for the grill, while Natasha was just inside transmitting landing instructions to the Milano. It was a strange crew they’d collected over the years, but a good one.

Steve’s gaze focused on Jane for longer than necessary. They’d been together for well over a year, although they’d always been needlessly quiet about it. Originally, it had been out of deference to Thor - but the Asgardian had been absolutely thrilled when he’d found out that Jane and Steve were happy. Still, most of the time only Bucky and Darcy ever really saw them together.

Bucky considered his friend. “You ever going to make an honest woman out of her?” he teased.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Steve replied, still staring.

Bucky shrugged. “The day Darcy doesn’t need to sleep with a panic button is the day I’ll propose.”

Steve looked at his friend sharply. “Well, that’s not fair and you know it. No one argued against the panic button harder than Darcy.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that she still needs it.”

“You ever ask her what she wants?” Steve asked.

“I believe her exact words were ‘I want you, you butthead. Now get out of my shower.’”

Steve sighed and glanced back at Jane, who was now fending off Darcy’s attempts to pull her away from the grill and into an impromptu game of Hokey-Pokey. She was grinning and let out a shriek as Barton picked her up and threatened to toss her into the pool. 

He smiled softly to himself, but then sobered. 

“You ever wonder…” he trailed off.

“What?” Bucky prompted.

“Thor said something once. About how Asgardian mead wasn’t intended for mortal men.”

Bucky looked confused. “Okay?”

“He lets me drink it.”

Bucky sat silently, waiting for Steve to continue.

Steve sighed. “You ever wonder if that’s it for us? That we’re going to outlive all this? Outlive them?”

Bucky stared at him. “No.”

“No?” Steve asked incredulously. “How can you not?”

“Because I can’t do anything about it if it’s true.”

It was Steve’s turn to blink. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s say you’re right - we’re functionally immortal. We’re going to live another thousand years beyond everyone we care about. That sucks. But I can’t do anything to change it, so I’m not going to waste the precious time I have now with Darcy worrying about it.” Bucky shook his head and looked over at the girls, who were now tossing toys into the pool for Becca to chase and wildly dancing to the music coming from the speakers Clint had set up.

“I don’t want to miss anything else, Steve. And if I only have another 70 years with Darcy, I’m not going to waste one microsecond of them worrying about something I can’t control. Because if you’re right-” his voice broke on the last word and he had to clear his throat to speak again. “If you’re right. I will need as many memories of those 70 years as my head can carry to sustain me the rest of my days.”

Steve rested his head back against the back of his chair with a thud and stared out at the horizon for a few minutes.

“You’re right,” he finally said.

“I know I am,” Bucky replied around a mouthful of burger. “I go to therapy for a reason, ya know.”

Steve stood up suddenly, knocking over the now warm bottle of beer next to his chair. He strode confidently over to Jane and Darcy, grabbed Jane’s hand and pulled her into the shade. Darcy stared at them, then looked over at Bucky who shrugged. She wandered over and planted herself in his lap.

“What got into Steve?” she asked.

Bucky wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “Finally lit a fire under his ass. I think we’ll be hearing a happy announcement in three...two…”

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Steve yelled over the noise, Jane at his side.

“One,” Bucky whispered to Darcy and she laughed.

“WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!” Jane yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

Darcy let out a whoop of joy and hopped out of Bucky’s lap to run over to Jane and embrace her friend in a huge hug.

Bucky grinned at the sight as everyone of the balcony started cheering, while Tony called for FRIDAY to get some champagne ready.

Natasha slid up beside him with a wry grin. “Should I be expecting a similar display from you and Darcy sometime soon? Double wedding perhaps?”

“When I ask Darcy to marry me, it won’t be in the middle of an Avengers pool party.”

“This isn’t an Avengers pool party,” Natasha argued. “This is Steve’s birthday barbeque.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Fewer casualties.”


End file.
